


something comforting (on a tranquil night)

by cosmicruin



Series: all things sweet and splendid [3]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29264763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicruin/pseuds/cosmicruin
Summary: Physical distance is nothing in the age of video calls.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Oh Sehun
Series: all things sweet and splendid [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2149095
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26
Collections: EXO Bakery - 2021





	something comforting (on a tranquil night)

**Author's Note:**

> Ticket #296: A and B missing each other while A is on a long business trip, and they have cute nightly video calls.

**Dubai, 11:15 P.M. → Paris, 8:15 P.M.**

“...and then we had dinner while overlooking the fountain. It sang! I don’t recognize the song. It was English. It sounded nice.” Jongin paused to readjust the sheet mask on his face. If the mask continued wrinkling from failed attempts at tamping down his smile, so be it. “I took videos. I also took pictures of fascinating things. I can’t wait to show you both.”

“I’ll remind you when we’re back in Seoul.” On the phone screen, Sehun was back in his own hotel room, seated on a plush chair positioned behind a window. Jongin peeked at a limited view of Paris’ night landscape of lights in various colors. “I haven’t had much time to myself since landing.” His soft sigh sounded exhausted. “We’re running on a tight schedule, but you bet I’ll be out gallivanting on the streets on the first free day I get.”

“You do that,” Jongin encouraged. “You look tired. Take occasional breaks.” He noted the dark smudge of fatigue beneath Sehun’s eyes, no doubt from work-related stress and possibly jetlag. “Your eyebrows take on this perpetually severe look when you’re sleep-deprived.”

“My eyebrows are a work of art,” Sehun boasted, followed by a playful chuckle.

“Seriously, I hope you’re getting enough rest,” Jongin said, after his own chuckles faded.

Three days before his own departure to Dubai as part of the company’s _Swan Lake_ overseas tour, Sehun jetted to Paris for a business trip with high expectations on his shoulders. Sehun’s father had sent him halfway across the world to test his capabilities of surviving in the cutthroat business world. Along with that, the unspoken challenge of his eligibility to lead the company someday.

“Aren’t you tired? You have an early start tomorrow, right?” Sehun asked, smoothing back his hair with a hand. The camera focus shook a little bit when he stood to walk somewhere and stopped, then slid back to a view of his face. “Isn’t it late over there—around ten? Oh, eleven? See; you should be asleep now.”

“The adrenaline hasn’t worn off. I’ll give it until midnight.” The rush and thrill post-performance always left Jongin at a snail’s pace most times. He’d be off stage for hours, and his entire being would still buzz with excitement, allowing him to relive the best highlights of that night’s show. “You, however, need the rest more than me.”

“It’s why I’m taking a nightcap.” Sehun lifted a half-filled wine glass to show Jongin. The red liquid sloshed inside. “Just one, then I’m off to bed.”

“You had better,” Jongin said, faking sternness. He propped up the phone against the bedside table so he could have the freedom to lie on his side; tuck an arm beneath his head. A long stretch of silence passed—Sehun sipping his wine, Jongin watching him drink before leaving to remove the mask and completing the rest of his routine. He resumed his position in bed and broke the silence. “At least our current time difference isn’t too outrageous.”

Sehun taking business trips to different places was natural in his line of work. Jongin accepted this during their time as friends; it didn’t change when they started dating. The length of the trips varied, sometimes scheduled on dates that conflicted with events important to them. Jongin didn’t begrudge Sehun if he couldn’t make it to an opening night, rescheduled a brunch date if he needed to meet with a business partner on a weekend, sometimes missing a complete season due to additional workload after returning from his trip. (On one extreme occasion, Sehun was unwillingly absent during the entirety of Jongin’s heat.) Today’s technology allowed nightly video calls, so missing each other could be cured by a single press of a button. It worked in staving off some of the loneliness going home to a disconcertingly-quiet apartment. It certainly worked wonders if Jongin was undergoing pre-heat symptoms that (unfortunately) exacerbated his clinginess, curing it by pilfering Sehun’s sweaters and calming himself with his scent while counting down the minutes until the call.

The time zone difference, however, was tricky to navigate if Sehun was sent too far west. Some days Jongin would retire to bed at eleven in Seoul, either glum or annoyed by the broken schedule of their nightly video calls, knowing full well Sehun was stuck in a meeting room at two somewhere in London. Jongin disliked the irrationality behind his actions; but, sometimes, the happiness and comfort brought by a lover was simply impossible to substitute, especially on long, difficult days.

Sehun returned to his chair, wine glass in hand. He angled his phone better. Jongin now had a view of Sehun’s shoulders, along with half of a chest and arms, warmed by the sight of him in the satin blue pajamas matching his own. “Seoul is just too far ahead,” he said, expression softening. “It does give you an incentive to wake up early. Why wax poetic about Parisian sunsets when I can do that to your bed head?”

“Watch your mouth,” Jongin warned, half-serious, halfway to a laugh.

Sehun cackled unapologetically. Once the humor waned, he sipped wine, and a subtle shift in his expression made Jongin pay closer attention. “On our honeymoon, let’s watch a Parisian sunset at Seine’s docks.”

“Oh? What makes you so sure I’ll marry you?” Jongin asked, purposefully coy, despite his lips stretching to a grin; his heart skipping a beat.

“What makes you so sure you won’t marry me?” Sehun teased, an eyebrow arching in flirtatious challenge.

“You’re right,” Jongin agreed. A wave of drowsiness suddenly struck him now that he was cozy and warm on the bed. “I’ll think about it first.” His eyes drifted close, snorting at Sehun’s noise of discontent, followed by a speech of why there was nothing to think about anymore.

The rest of Sehun’s words faded as the gentle darkness of sleep closed around Jongin, his mouth curving into a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me at:  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/mindstormfury/)  
> [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/propinquity)


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